Recognizing the suffering wrought by circumstances in various parts of the world on New Year's Eve, we nonetheless let out a collective sigh as our own celebrations concluded without another shoe dropping. In the runup to Tuesday night, we learned that some men - deemed "interesting" to the FBI - supposedly sneaked into the country and were perhaps headed to New York City. It was not a giant leap to envision some horrible act occurring in Times Square just as the lighted ball descended toward frozen-in-time Dick Clark and hundreds of thousands of his friends.

Tuesday night brought back memories of Dec. 31, 1999, as the world waited for the much-hyped arrival of Y2K. That night, thankfully, turned out to be a bust in apocalyptic terms.

Much like New Year's Eve 2002.

That sentiment - near giddiness at the prospect of a passing peaceful day - has been in short supply for the past15 months.

What terrorism started, the specter of imminent war and potential war has continued. And continues today.

There was a time in the immediate days, weeks and month after the 9-11 terrorist attacks that featured hysterical, although obviously not totally unwarranted, fear of sneak attacks on us, on American soil.

We looked at Arkansas Nuclear One not as the energy supplier and job provider that is has been to this community for decades. It was a potential target.

We looked at large gatherings of people not as festive occasions. They were bulls-eyes for those who would do us harm.

We looked at airplanes not as a convenient mode of mass transportation.

They were potential weapons of mass destruction.

And that fear, that terror, hasn't yet fully faded. We've gotten on with our daily lives, to be sure, but we will never again be "normal," whatever that means.

And now, even as al-Qaida operatives regroup and bombings continue hither and yon, our attention has turned somewhat away from potential terror attacks to the prospect of attacks of our own.

However, those attacks, offensive in nature, almost assuredly will involve many agonizing moments in which our fighting men and women will need every defense available to thwart the enemy - and the enemy's likely chemical and biological weapons.

In coming months, we may face war in Iraq and North Korea, a nuclear power.

What the future holds is anyone's guess.

At this point, we'll take our victories where we can get them, including a peaceful New Year's Eve.